Surface covering material



Nov. 16, 1948. F. WASHBURN 2,454,239

sunmcn covmune MATERIAL Filed Ju1y'23, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 III I Illlll I'll umu'lmnm NOV. 16, 1948.

Filed July 23, 1946 F. WASHBURN SURFACE COVERING IMPERIAL 2- Sheots-Sheet 2 Patented Nov. 16, 1948 SURFACE COVERING MATERIAL Frank Washburn, La Fayette, Ind.. alslgnor of one-half to William 0. Mayne, Battle Creek,

Mich.

Application July 23, 1948, Serial No.885,885

Olalml. (Cl.'10,8-7)

Thisinvention relates to surface covering material, particularly to shingles, and has for its principal object to provide. an improved shingle of the self-locking type in which wide latitude is offered for the points at which nails may be driven therethrough.

It is necessary in applying standard type shingles to a roof, especially in the application of composition type shingles over wood shingles, that the nails be driven through the shingles at predetermined points. .The nails cannot normally be driven above or below these points in order to avoid spaces provided between the roof sheathing boards, which are usually spaced apart for ventilation of the wood shingles. Consequently, nails driven through the wood shingles and into such spaces provide very little, if any holding force in view oi the rotted condition of the wood shingles.

It is, therefore, another object 'of the invention to overcome the above disadvantages and to provide an improved shingle that is adapted for eitherhigh or low nailing, so that the shingles may be solidly secured to the roof sheathing boards.

It is still another object of the invention to provide an improved self-locking shingle for reroofing over old shingles disposed upon spaced apart roof sheathing boards.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an improved self-locking shingle of economical design that is capable of being applied with minimum effort andtime.

It is still a further object of the invention to provide an improved shingle of such design that it is substantially sew-aligning both upwards and sidewards.

With the above objects in view, one embodiment of the invention discloses a shingle of the self-locking type, in which the sides thereof are inclined when disposed upon a roof, so as to shed water more easily, and in which two of the lower converging sides are terminated in slits, thereby forming a locking lug at the bottom of the shingle. One of the said converging sides is provided with a locking hook, which is engageable with the walls of one of said slits provided in an underneath shingle, while both shoulders of the shingle include aligning edges, as well as a substantial area thereof, for nailing purposes.

In another embodiment, the two lower converging sides of the preceding shingle are formed with offset portions and the two slits formed at the ends of the two converging sides are termi- 2 nated. by transverse slits in order to provide a wavy appearance to the overall roof pattern.

The invention may be more readily understood by reference to the following detailed description.

in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a strip of shingle material illustrating the manner in which individual shingles are cut therefrom:

course of Fig. 4;

' tiguous shingle.

Fig. 6 is a plan view oi a modified form of shingle; and

Fig. 7 is a partial view of shingles of Fig. 6 assembled over a wood shingle roof.

Referring now to the drawings, particularly to Fig. 2, there is shown a shingle ill, of any suitable flexible or pliable material, such as asphalt and the like, which is adapted for surface coverage, especially to roofs of a building structure. The shingle ID is of substantially rectangular shape and has an upper square corner l2 formed by upper edges or sides l4 and it, with side ll slightly longer than side it. An edge i8, which is of slight length, depends from and forms a truncated corner or shoulder 20 with edge it, while an edge 22, also of slight length, depends preferably at an angle of from edge is and forms a corner or shoulder 24 therewith. It is readily apparent that edge 22 is parallel with edge H. An edge 26, which is preferably parallel with edge l8, depends from edge 22 and forms a recessed corner 28 therewith. It is to be noted that the angle formed by the two edges 22 and 26 is substantially complementary to that formed by edges l4 and I8, so that the corner 20 of one shingle may be disposed in abutting relationship with the recessed corner 28 of a con- Thus, edges 22 and I8 provide aligning guides respectively with edges l4 and 26 of another shingle, as will appear hereinafter.

Converging below edges l8 and 28 are shown edges 28 and 30, respectively, which are parallel respectively with edges 16 and I4 and which terminate before they meet, and thereby form at the extremity thereof a sealing lug 32. In prolongation of edges 28 and 30 are respectively cut slits 34 and 88 in lug 82, thereby forming looking tabs or lobes 38 and 40, respectively, at each side of the lug 32. Lobes 88, 40 are provided with inclined edges 39, 4|, respectively, which in turn are substantially perpendicular to converging edges 28', an, respectively. At the upper portion of edge 28 is shown a locking hook 42;

which is formed by inclined edges 44, 48, and 48. cut out of edge 28, edge 48 being parallel with edge 26. As will appear hereinafter in greater detail, the conjunction of the edges 46 and 48 of the hook 42 will provide a lock for a lobe 40 of a superposed shingle I. At each corner 20 and 24 the respective shaded portions 50 and 52 constitute nailing areas, which will provide high or low nailing points. It is to be noted that the vertical span of said nailing areas 50 and 62 is of greater length than the space provided between roof sheathing boards 54, as may be readily seen in Figs. 3 and 4.

In Fig. 1 is shown a strip 56 of shingle material from which the individual shingles of Fig. 2 may be economically cut with a minimum waste of material.

Referring now to Figs.-3, 4, and 5, the manner in which the shingles of Fig. 2 may be applied over a wood shingled roof will be described in detail. It is the customary practice in laying wood shingles to first apply over the rafters (not shown) sheathing boards 64 of approximately 2 inch width, which sheathing boards are, in general, spaced apart about 3 /2 inches, although a spacing of 2%" to 4 inches may be found. It is also customary to lay a wider sheathing board 58 nearest the eaves (not shown), of the roof upon which the starter and lower courses of wood shingles 60 are laid. The wood shingles 60 are laid with an exposure of approximately inches, the exposure of course varying in accordance with the length of shingle, and the courses are then applied in such manner that nailing of the wood shingles to the sheathing boards 64 is accomplished quite readily. To superpose shingues i0 over said wood shingles 60 it is necessary that the shingles Ill be solidly secured to the sheathing boards 54. Otherwise, as mentioned herelnbefore, nails penetrating through the decayed wood shingles 60 in the space 6! between the sheathing boards 54 will obviously provide very little holding force for the superposed shingles ill, with the result that gusts of wind may raise the superposed shingles from the roof and expose the undersurface thereof to the elements.

In applying the shingles upon a wood roof the .first or starter course which usually comprises upper portions 62 (see Fig. 3) of the shingles iii of Fig. 2, is laid with the lower edges thereof flush with the lower edges of the wood shingles 60, the corner 20 including edge I8 and a portion of edge [4 being placed in abutting relationship with corner 28, including edge 22 and a portion of edge 26. By providing such an abutting Joint, the application of the starter course is readily facilitated, since alignment of the shingles 62 is preserved across the course. For securing the starter shingles, nails 63 may be driven through any desired point in the side areas 50 and 52 of each shingle in view of the width of sheathing board 58, each shingle being held thereto by two nails.

The next step in applying the shingles is shown in Fig. 4, wherein the first course of full sized shingles i0 is superposed upon the starter shingles 82, the vertical diagonal of each shingle l0 coinciding substantially with the juncture of two of the starter shingles 82. In this step the shingle ill, indicated as A in Fig. 4, is placed with the central part of the lug 32 directly below the edges 44, 46 of the starter shingles 62. Then, by lifting the edges 26, 48 of the adjacent starter shingles 62 and pulling upwardly upon the shingle being laid, the lobes 38, 40 are moved upwardly underneath the edges 28, 48 until the. corner formed by edges 46, 48 engages the lowermost edge of slit 38, thereby preventing further upward movement of the shingle, edges 28, 48 passing through slits 34, 36, respectively. In other words hook 42 locks the lobe 40 in a predetermined vertical position. Upon upward movement of the shingle ceasing, edge 22 will abut the upper portion of edge l4 of the starter shingle, whereupon the edges it of both abutting shingles will be in alignment. Also, the lower portion of edge l4 will be in alignment with the upper portion of edge I4 of the starter shingle B2. The lower edge of lug 82 will, in addition, be in alignment with the lower edges of the starter shingles. It is thus seen that both upward and lateral alignment is provided, so that the shingles may be quickly and readily laid. The shingleA is then nailed solidly to the sheathing board 54 at the two points shown, so that the starter shingle underneath is also secured at two additional points adjacent the top corner i2. Shingle B and the remaining shingles of the course are applied in substantially the same manner as shingle A except that recessed corner 28 of one shingle is in abutting engagement with corner 20 of another shinglc. However, the first course of shingles may be laid by one applicator and, in view of the self-locking arrangement, the shingles may be nailed by another applicator. It will be noted that only two nails 63 are required for securing ,each of said first course shingles III to the sheathing board 54; said nails while being driven through the sides of the shingle, as indicated hereinbefore, will also secure the upper portion of the starter shingle underneath, so that each starter shingle will be secured into a sheathing board by four nails.

In Fig. 5 a second course of shingles is shown superposed upon the first course of shingles shown in Fig. 4. The application thereof is substantially the same as that for the first course, the process being repeated for the next courses until the roof is covered.

InFig. 6 is shown a modified form of shingle 64, inwardly stepped edges 8'5, 86 corresponding to edges 28' and 30 of shingle ill of Fig. 2 being provided. In addition, the slits 34 and 38 are terminated by transverse slits 88 and i0, respectively. The above modifications are provided particularly to give a wavy outline to the shingles when laid. The application of the shingles 84 of Fig. 6 over a wood shingled roof is illustrated in Fig. 7. the method of applying same being substantially the same as that described hereinbefore.

While this invention has been shown and described as embodying certain features merely for the purpose of illustration, it is clear to anyone skilled in the shingling application art that many the exposed contour of each shingle forming substantially a square; a lateral corner of each of said shingles beingtruncated to provide a vertical, aligning guide: each of said shingles having a recess in one of its sides directly below said truncated corner for forming a stop; a lug including a pair of lobes extending from the lower portion of each shingle; a slit formed between each lobe and a side of said shingle; said slits being'in prolongation of said respective sides; said lobes being adapted to project under adjacent underlying shingles; and one of said lobes being adapted for locking engagement with said stop of an underlying shingle.

2. A roof shingle of substantially rectangular shape with one of its diagonals disposed in a vertical plane, a lateral corner of each of said shingles being truncated to provide a vertical guide, a pair of downwardly converging sides for each shingle, a pair of lugs formed at the bottom of each shingle having an outer straight edge disposed at an angle of 45 with said converging sides, a hook formed by a recess in one of said converging edges directly below said truncated corner for limiting the upward movement of said pairof lugs, and a second lateral corner provided in each of said shingles having an inwardly stepped vertical guide as a laying guide for abutting engagement withsaid first vertical guide of an adjacent shingle, whereby said laying guides and hook are adapted to maintain said shingles in vertical and horizontal alignment.

3. A roof shingle having at least four corners, '7

a top corner being substantially square, a truncated corner having a vertical side forming a laying guide, a recessed corner having the sides of the recess complementary to said truncated corner, said truncated corner of one shingle being adapted to abut the sides of said recessed corner of an adjacent shingle, thereby providing both vertical and horizontal alignment, and 'a fourth corner having a pair of locking lugs formed at the end 0! converging adjacent sides, each of said shingles having a slit between each of said adjacent converging edges and said lug, and a hook formed by a. recess in one of said converging sides directly below said truncated corner for locking engagement with the lug of a shingle disposed thereover, thereby further alignme said shingles.

4. A roof shingle of rectangular shape adapted to be laid with the diagonal substantially vertical'and having a top corner, a truncated corner at one side providing a vertical edge forming a shingle laying guide, a recessed corner at the other side having the sides of the recess complementary to the edges of said truncated corner for abutting engagement with said vertical edge and with the adjacent upper side edge of an adjacent shingle, thereby providing both vertical and horizontal alignment between adjacent shingles, a pair of locking lugs at the bottom corner of the lower converging sides of the shingle, and a hook formed by a recess in one of said converging sides below and adjacent to said truncated corner for interlocking engagement with a lug on a superposed shingle.

5. A roof shingle of rectangular shape adapted to be laid with the diagonal substantially vertical and having a top corner, a truncated corner at one side providing a vertical edge forming a shingle laying guide, a recessed corner at the other side having a vertical edge parallel to the truncated edge of said first corner and an inclined edge parallel to the top edge of said shingle forabutting engagement with the truncated edge and adjacent top edge of an adjacent shingle, thereby providing both vertical 'and horizontal alignment between adjacent shingles, a. pair of locking lugs at the bottom corner of the lower converging sides of the shingle, and a hook formed by a recess in one of said converging sides below and adjacent to said truncated edge for interlocking engagement with lug on a superposed shingle.

FRANK WASHBURN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the 

